May

30

A Few Food Friendly Tuscan Wines

One thing that I learned about myself during my recent trip to Tuscany is that, while I like to enjoy my wine with food, I’m not such a fan of huge complex bottlings that compete with — as opposed to complement — what I eat.

Fortunately, most of the wines that I encountered during my travels in Italy were great on their own and, most importantly to me, beautiful with food.

Here are three of my favorites that you should be able to find in the U.S. with minimal searching (in fact, try using the search functions under “Wine Locators” on the left side of this page).

1) Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico 2006

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The Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico 2006 was recommended to us specifically for a meal that lacked grilled meats (tagliatelle with wild boar ragu) .  The wine was soft and young with a taste of dried cherries that alternated between sweet and tart, and I ended up enjoying my glass so much that I decided to make a special trip to Castello di Volpaia to sample whatever else it produced.  During my visit, I found the Coltassala, a blend of Sangiovese and Mammolo, to be most striking in its subtlety and elegance, but my favorite of all remained the 2006 Chianti Classico – it’s definitely the one that I intend to seek out for regular consumption.

2) Bucciarelli Chianti Classico Riserva 2004

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I’ve already told you about my trip to Bucciarelli Antico Podere Casanova (see the piece I wrote on May 16) so I won’t repeat myself, but it is amazing how much the 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva resembles the man who created it: old school, earthy, and a little rough around the edges. The wine was less tannic than your average Chianti Classico Riserva (which is a good thing in my book) probably because the casks in which the wine was aged have mellowed during their hundred, or so, years of use. There was a bit of mustiness in the nose and on the palate, which combined with prominent flavors of dried cherries and faint traces of blue fruit.  This hearty wine would go perfectly with a big bistecca alla fiorentina.

3) Buondonno Chianti Classico 2004 

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Unlike most Tuscan vineyards, Buondonno’s are organic – and I know for a fact that its wines are sold in the States because the wine shop across the street from my apartment in New York carries them.  Typically, I associate Chiantis with dried fruit, but the 2004 Chianti Classico was full of ripe summer cherries – and in fact, it was the most fruit-forward (and also least tannic) of any of the wines that I discussed above.  This wine had enough of a backbone to hold up to grilled meats, yet sufficiently subtle features for pairing perfectly well with delicate pasta.

May

29

Our interest was piqued in the Juris St. Laurent Selection 2004 when a staff member at K&L described the wine’s features as a cross between an earthy Pinot Noir and a meaty Syrah.  In case you’re curious, the varietal here is St. Laurent, which is widely produced in Austria.

Here’s what we found: aromas of leather and berries; a leathery palate but accompanied by the flavor of — and this is going to sound weird – warm blackberry sorbet; a mildly bitter finish reminiscent of the sensation you get from eating plum skin; and an interesting, lightly tannic, and full mouthfeel.

So was it truly a mix of Syrah and Pinot?  Certainly, the combination of berry scents, leatheriness, and a filling texture would support that notion.  But having now tried the wine, we’re more of the mind that what’s inside the bottle is so out-of-the-ordinary (at least by our standards) that it’s perhaps best appreciated in its own light.

Where to get it: We bought our bottle at K&L Wines in San Francisco.  They ship.  You can also find it using the Snooth search function under “Wine Locator” in the right hand column of this page, or by visiting wine-searcher.com or winezap.com.

May

28

Below are the events that we recommend for this weekend.  Click on an event’s title to visit that event’s official web site. 

May

27

For those of you that still don’t accept the idea that $10 can buy an outstanding bottle of wine, allow us to introduce the Cascina Minella Dolcetto di Dogliani 2004, which, as its name suggests, is a Dolcetto from Dogliani (located within Italy’s northwestern region of Piedmont).  This wine had been glowingly recommended to us, yet we felt that the recommendation didn’t even do it enough justice.

We were pleased by the nose of dark cherry, dried green leaves, and licorice, but what made this wine truly a winner was the combination of (a) how it felt on the palate — it was beautifully light-to-medium sized in body even though the intensity of its rose color suggested a heavier texture – and (b) a killer attack of bright dark cherry on the palate with a bit of almond and menthol on the finish.  Nothing impresses us more than a wine like this: extremely inexpensive and so unexpectedly refreshing!

If a summer red is what you’re looking for, you absolutely cannot go wrong with this one.    

Where to get it: We bought our bottle at Plumpjack Wines in Noe Valley.  They ship.

May

26

We’re on the road again today — this time on our way back to the West Coast – and do not expect to be able to post again until tomorrow.  Tune in then for our newest Weekday Wine!

May

22

We’ve been traveling in the Northeast for the past few days to spend time with family, and due to all of the flying and driving, we are surely wiped.  Fortunately, we will be staying with my folks for the next couple of days, which to our minds means only one thing: party time!  While they monitor the baby monitor tonight, we’re heading out for a big night on the town, during which we will dine on Italian food and stay out past our normal bed time of 9 p.m.  By the time we return back to where my folks’ place at 9:30, we will surely have polished off an unusually solid bottle of wine (which we have already started drinking) to mark the occasion of our first date night since our son was born.

Frankly, the Domaine Paul Autard Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2004 (a mix of Grenache, Syrah, and Counoise) is one of those bottles that reminds us that it really is worth shelling out a few extra dollars for a truly exquisite bottle of wine when the moment calls for it.  

We each took a few whiffs of this wine and with nearly every breath came away with a different aroma.  Figs… spice… honey… lasagna (!)  There’s just so much to enjoy about a wine that challenges the senses the way this one did, making the arrival at our final tasting notes — primarily sweet pipe tobacco (or dried fruit and nuts… in fact, cinnamon babka came to my mind at one point), along with black currant, in the nose and mouth, firm tannins, medium-to-large body, and smooth finish with a little bit of spice — all the more satisfying.  

Just wonderful!  We can’t wait to finish the rest…      

Where to get it: Use the Snooth search function under the heading “Wine Locator” on the right side of this screen, or visit wine-searcher.com or winezap.com, to locate a bottle near you.

May

21

Below are the events that we recommend for this weekend and beyond.  Click on an event’s title to visit that event’s official web site.

May

20

Due to family reasons, we’re on the road today and do not expect to be able to post again until tomorrow.  Tune in then for this week’s ”Don’t Miss” Wine Events!

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